Blog Posts - Page 6 of 16 - RA Business Advisors

Tips to create a work from home schedule that works for you

May 8, 2020 By raadmin

When you start working from home, you may find yourself struggling with building and sticking to a working schedule. Working from home is very different: you may start off your day without commuting to work or chatting with your colleagues, then you may get caught up in your to-do list and realize you have worked through dinner! Or you may find yourself distracted by your surroundings and procrastinate as a result. This blog will walk you through some tips to create an effective work-from-home schedule that will help you stay focused and maintain a great work-life balance.

1, Build a morning routine

Unlike working in the office, remote working now allows you to have some time before work instead of commuting. You may choose to sleep in a bit more, but we recommend that you should spend some time on a morning routine. You can go out for a jog, do yoga for 30 minutes or sit down with your family for breakfast. Having a morning routine before work allows you to spend time with your family and take care of your physical and mental health. You can also squeeze in some housework in your morning routine, so you don’t have to worry about it later during the day.

2, Make a schedule and set alarms if necessary

You may get caught up in your work and work through lunch, or you may forget important meetings if you don’t stick to a schedule. This tip is simple: make a schedule. You can use free and easy tools like Google calendar and note down what you need to do throughout the day, or you can choose to opt-in a fancier tool like a project management software. If you have trouble sticking to the schedule, try setting alarms. Make sure to leave some time for breaks in your schedule as well.

3, Schedule catch-ups with colleagues

Working from home can be lonely. By catching up with colleagues, especially those that you don’t see often, you can get more connected with them. Try a virtual coffee or lunches with them, get to know them better, and stay updated with what’s happening in the company.

4, Take breaks

It’s obvious that you should take breaks during the day, but it’s not easy to remember to do it once you focus on work. Leave time for breaks in your schedule and set alarms for them. To relax during your break, you can try cooking up something quick for lunch, doing a quick workout or calling loved ones. You may enjoy a five-minute break every hour, or a longer break after working for four hours straight – the choice is up to you, just do whatever you feel comfortable with! By taking breaks, you are allowing yourself to relax, prevent burnout and boost creativity.

5, Take some time for yourself

It’s important to set your work hours so your colleagues know that they shouldn’t contact or set up a meeting outside of your work hours. When you finish work, make sure to take some time for yourself. You can catch up with some friends, whip up your favourite dish, or watch a movie with your family. Some great activities to relax are drawing and painting, meditating, writing, going for a walk, singing and dancing.

How to engage with customers during COVID-19

April 27, 2020 By raadmin

We understand that during the COVID-19 pandemic, connecting with customers can be a challenging task. Businesses need to communicate effectively and maintain brand awareness and recognition these days. Here are some tips your business can use to better interact with your consumers during the crisis:

1, Utilize virtual spaces

With everyone at home, brands can engage with customers in many ways through the virtual space. Virtual events and community experiences are a good idea. For example, we have seen active brands releasing free virtual workout sessions. A virtual webinar or panel is also a good idea. You can also consider live streaming on social media or website to better connect with your customers as well.

With a lot of people at home and many of them are eager to beat lockdown boredom, you can take advantage of virtual spaces now to showcase your goods and keep your brand on top of their mind. There are several great streaming platforms out there that you can use, and you can always utilize your social media platforms to connect with your audience in the most natural way.

2, Ensure that you provide a smooth online shopping experience

If you are a retailer, now is the time to make the move online or improve your eCommerce site. If you are a brand that has always been traditionally sticking to offline sales, it’s important to make the shift online now. As many people are staying home, there is a large portion of consumers moving online. To get started, getting a website and digital catalogue will be helpful for customers to shop just like browsing your offline store. You should also utilize social media and digital marketing strategies such as running ads online or email marketing to reach more people and keep them updated.

If you have already managed an online store, make sure that your digital store is up and running smoothly. It is crucial to ensure a good user experience so customers can view and choose the products they want and place the order easily. You can also engage with customers during and after the shopping experience, such as sending them a follow-up email with a feedback form and ensuring that virtual support is always available on the website.

For businesses that provide services, you may have many problems with delivering your service and communicating with your clients online during this time. Make sure to utilize online meeting platforms (such as Zoom, Google Hangouts or Skype) and project management applications (such as Slack, Asana and Trello) to keep the team and your clients on track.

3, Send out human-centric messages

The public is aware that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit us hard. Thus, messages that are human-centric can be effective. For example, if your business has offered your employees help and support during the crisis, or if you provide support to the community, feel free to send out the message. Showing that you are being sensitive to the human side is important to customer loyalty.

4, Avoid fearful language

It doesn’t help your brand to share over-sensationalized messages that the media has been sharing. Instead, you can share what your business has been doing to reduce the spread of the virus and send out positive vibes.

NEXT STEP:

Stay tuned for more blogs that can help you manage and grow your small businesses! Check out some of our past blogs in the meantime:

New year resolutions for small businesses

Top 3 small business challenges and how to solve them

5 Powerful ways to improve your small business marketing

Coronavirus effects & How we can help

April 2, 2020 By raadmin

Updated 02 April 2020

Job Keeper Payment for employers and employees

The government has announced a $130 billion dollar allowance to help keep more Australians in jobs.

Under the JobKeeper Payment, businesses impacted by the coronavirus outbreak will be able to access a subsidy from the Government to continue paying their employees. Affected employers will be able to claim a fortnightly payment of $1,500 per eligible employee from 30 March 2020, for a maximum period of 6 months.

Employers will be eligible for the subsidy if:

their business has a turnover of less than $1 billion and their turnover will be reduced by more than 30 per cent relative to a comparable period a year ago (of at least a month); or
their business has a turnover of $1 billion or more and their turnover will be reduced by more than 50 per cent relative to a comparable period a year ago (of at least a month); and
the business is not subject to the Major Bank Levy.

The employer must have been in an employment relationship with eligible employees as at 1 March 2020 and confirm that each eligible employee is currently engaged in order to receive Job Keeper Payments. Not-for-profit entities (including charities) and self-employed individuals (businesses without employees) that meet the turnover tests that apply for businesses are eligible to apply for Job Keeper Payments.

Eligible employees are employees who:

are currently employed by the eligible employer (including those stood down or re-hired);
were employed by the employer at 1 March 2020;
are full-time, part-time, or long-term casuals (a casual employed on a regular basis for longer than 12 months as at 1 March 2020);
are at least 16 years of age;
are not in receipt of a JobKeeper Payment from another employer. If your employees receive the JobKeeper Payment, this may affect their eligibility for payments from Services Australia as they must report their JobKeeper Payment as income.

Payment process

Eligible employers will be paid $1,500 per fortnight per eligible employee. Eligible employees will receive, at a minimum, $1,500 per fortnight, before tax, and employers are able to top-up the payment.

Where employers participate in the scheme, their employees will receive this payment as follows.

If an employee ordinarily receives $1,500 or more in income per fortnight before tax, they will continue to receive their regular income according to their prevailing workplace arrangements. The JobKeeper Payment will assist their employer to continue operating by subsidising all or part of the income of their employee(s).
If an employee ordinarily receives less than $1,500 in income per fortnight before tax, their employer must pay their employee, at a minimum, $1,500 per fortnight, before tax.
If an employee has been stood down, their employer must pay their employee, at a minimum, $1,500 per fortnight, before tax.
If an employee was employed on 1 March 2020, subsequently ceased employment with their employer, and then has been re-engaged by the same eligible employer, the employee will receive, at a minimum, $1,500 per fortnight, before tax.
It will be up to the employer if they want to pay superannuation on any additional wage paid because of the JobKeeper Payment.

Payments will be made to the employer monthly in arrears by the ATO.

To apply, visit the business.gov.au page for more information. Check out the JobKeeper Factsheet – frequently asked questions for more details.

NEXT STEP:

Feel free to contact us for further details and to discuss your business situation. We’re here to help!

***

Updated 24 March 2020

In response to the coronavirus threat, the Australian Government has increased its support for Australian businesses during this period of economic uncertainty. Assistance includes larger cash payments to small businesses and temporary measures to provide relief for financially distressed businesses.

This page provides you with information about assistant packages and support for businesses. Our team at RA Business Advisors will be monitoring and updating this page when new information is available.

A. Support from the Federal Government (apply to all SMEs)

To this point, the Australian Government has announced 2 Economic Stimulus packages to the sum of $189bn. The cash and tax incentive measures are as followed:

1) 100% Cashback on PAYG Withholding, up to $100,000 in total

Eligible small and medium-sized employers will receive a payment equal to 100% of their salary and wages withheld (up from 50%) with a maximum of $50,000 and minimum of $10,000 between 1 January 2020 and 30 June 2020.
An additional payment is also being introduced in the July – October 2020 period. Eligible entities will also receive an additional payment equal to the total of all the Boosting Cash Flow for Employers payments they have received. In total, eligible entities will receive at least $20,000 up to a total of $100,000 under both payments.
This second payment is calculated as the total cash back credit calculate in the first payment, split evenly over the June-20 to September 20 BAS/IAS lodgment period.
To summarize, the cash back is now calculated on 100% of PAYGW of your wages, paid in 2 separate calculation periods:

Payment

Calculation period

Calculation method

Benefit

Payment 1

1 Jan 2020 – 30 June 2020

100% of PAYGW

Capped at $50,000 for the period, with a minimum of $10,000

Payment 2 (additional)

30 June 2020 – 30 September 2020

100% of PAYGW

Capped at $50,000 for the period, with a minimum of $10,000

*Eligibility for Payment 1 (Boosting Cash Flow for Employers payments): Small and medium sized business entities and NFPs with aggregated annual turnover under $50 million and that employ workers will be eligible. Eligibility will generally be based on prior year turnover.

For more information, please visit the Treasury page and the ATO website.

2) 50% subsidy on apprentice wages, up to $21,000

Eligible employers can apply for a wage subsidy of 50% of apprentice or trainee’s wage paid during the 9 months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020. Employers can be reimbursed up to a maximum of $21,000 per eligible apprentice or trainee.
If a small business is not able to retain an apprentice, the subsidy will be available to a new employer that employs that apprentice.

Further information is available at:

3, Tax incentives for Small Business Owners

The immediate tax deduction threshold has been increased from $30,000 to $150,000 for assets purchased between 12 March 2020 and 30 June 2020.
Assets over $150,000 will attract an additional 50 percent depreciation rate of the asset cost in the year of purchase for assets purchased between 12 March 2020 and 30 June 2021

Note:

It’s important to note that these are tax incentives, not cash back incentives. You need to spend the money and pay income tax to get the tax benefit.
The tax benefits will be applicable for your FY20 and FY21 tax returns, so you won’t see any benefit until you’ve lodged your 2020 and 2021 returns.

4, Tax Payment Deferrals

The ATO is providing SMEs payment deferral concessions for businesses directly impacted by COVID-19.

Deferring by up to 4 months the payment date of amounts due through the business activity statement (including PAYG instalments), income tax assessments, fringe benefits tax assessments and excise.
Businesses that report quarterly can move to monthly reporting to get faster access to GST refunds they are entitled to.
Allowing businesses to vary PAYG instalment amounts to zero for the March 2020 quarter. Businesses that vary their PAYG instalment to zero can also claim a refund for any instalments made for the September 2019 and December 2019 quarters.
Remitting any interest and penalties, incurred on or after 23 January 2020, that have been applied to tax liabilities.
The ATO will discuss with affected businesses to help them pay their existing and ongoing tax liabilities by allowing them to enter into low interest payment plans.

Note:

These relief provisions are not automatically applied. You will need to contact the ATO to make any of the above requests for assistance.
Businesses can call the ATO’s Emergency Support Infoline on 1800 806 218 to discuss relief options based on needs and circumstances.

5, Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme – provide access to working capital

Under the Scheme, the Government will provide a guarantee of 50% of new loans issued by eligible lenders to SMEs.
The Government’s support will enhance lenders’ willingness and ability to provide credit to SMEs with the Scheme able to support $40 billion of lending to SMEs. This will allow small businesses to get access to credit faster.

To apply:

Contact your bank/lending institution about this package.
Refer to the ‘Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme’ and ask what new loan products are available to assist.

B. BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING

As a business owner, now is the time to plan for employees being away from your workplace, shortages of supply, reduction in sales, and the possibility of your workplace being closed for a period of time if everybody is being forced to self-quarantine.

One of the resources we have available is a “Business Continuity Plan” which has been developed exclusively to deal with the coronavirus implications. The document includes important considerations such as:

Employees working from home, and workplace obligations
How to pay your bills in the short term if your sales start to dry up
How to communicate in a reassuring way with your clients and customers
How to keep things moving with your business

We’re not suggesting in any way that we have all the answers, but it is important for us to work with you and help you to plan for what will happen in the weeks and months ahead.

NEXT STEPS

There are times when we need to stay calm and rely on reliable news sources and information from State and Australian Government websites. What you see on social media may be panicky and unreliable information.

Our team at RA Business Advisors are here to help you. Please phone us on 07 3367 0852 or email us at mail@raaccountants.com.au if you need any assistance.

Effective ways to increase your market share

March 13, 2020 By raadmin

Expanding your market is a good way to increase your market share. Utilizing the right methods will keep your company growing sustainably in the long term. Here are a few effective ways to get you there.

Increase engagement with customers

By engaging more with your customers, customer loyalty will increase. In other words, your customers will remember you better, will come back and buy your products/services and refer it to their friends and family. To do this, you can communicate with them more on social media and email. You can post new content regularly and encourage your audience to comment. Sending personalized email newsletters is a good idea too. Sending a feedback form after they use your product/service will also help increase engagement.

Run a referral program

Finding and approaching new customers takes time and effort. Using a referral program can save you quite a lot of time and attract customers naturally. You can offer a discount or a free sample if your customer refers their friends and family to your company. Take rideshare companies, like Uber for example. By giving customers a discount on their trip when they introduce someone new to the service, they have quickly gained a broader market.

Investigate in wholesaling and retailing

If you’re a wholesaler, consider opening a retail outlet. Or if you only sell through retail channels, investigate entering the wholesale industry. You will definitely reach more audiences in no time. Take a look at this business.gov.au page.

Exhibit at trade events or conferences

Build connections, demonstrate new products and develop stronger relationships with new markets by presenting your business at trade shows. See what trade events are in Australia over the coming year.

Employ smart hiring practices

Companies with high market share usually have the most skilled employees. Attracting and keeping top talents at work can reduce turnover and focus more on core tasks.

To do this, offer competitive salaries and benefits. Providing flexibility at work is also a great way to attract talent. Simply offer more flexibility in how and where people work, you will see a huge difference in productivity. Especially if your competitors are still expecting their employees to work 9-5 every day, your flexible working conditions can be appealing.

NEXT STEPS:

Stay tuned for more blogs that can help you manage and grow your small businesses! Check out some of our past blogs in the meantime:

Top 3 small business challenges and how to solve them

5 Powerful ways to improve your small business marketing

Top tips to increase your customers in 2020

SG Amnesty Bill finally passes Parliament

March 6, 2020 By raadmin

The government’s superannuation guarantee amnesty bill has finally passed both houses, almost two years after it was first introduced.

The bill motivates employers to “come forward and do the right thing by their employees” by paying any unpaid super without facing serious penalties. The amnesty period will end six months from the date it receives royal assent.

Since the amnesty was announced on 24 May 2018, around 7,000 employers have come forward to voluntarily disclose historical unpaid super. According to Treasury, 7,000 more employers are estimated to come forward during the six-month amnesty period, returning $230 million of superannuation to employees.

For employers who are found to be underpaying their employees’ super, they will be subject to a minimum penalty of 100% of the SG shortfall they owe – and up to 200% in serious cases – if they fail to comply before the amnesty period ends.

According to Assistant Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and Financial Technology Jane Hume, if employers do not take advantage of the amnesty, they will face significantly higher penalties when they are caught.

“We encourage employers to check they don’t owe outstanding super — and if they do, to take advantage of this once-only opportunity to set things right before much tougher penalties apply.”

More Australians are reporting tax cheats

February 6, 2020 By raadmin

More and more individuals are willing to report phoenix, tax evasion or black economy activity. The Australian Taxation Office revealed a record-breaking 15,000 tip-offs to its Tax Integrity Centre in the first quarter of this financial year – that equates to about 230 tip-offs per day.

According to Peter Holt, ATO assistant commissioner, the main categories of tip-offs received were related to not declaring income, demanding cash from customers and paying workers “cash in hand”, not reporting sales and having a lifestyle that does not match income.

The community is aware of black economy activities and are willing to make a tip-off. People are getting irritated at people cheating the system to gain an unfair advantage, and they genuinely want to stop cheats. The black economy means the community is mi

ssing out on important public services such as schools, healthcare, and other infrastructure. Honest businesses are also disadvantaged, and the employees getting paid cash in hand are probably not getting full entitlements.

What happens after a tip-off?

The ATO crosschecks the information and assesses what action needs to be taken.
Privacy laws prevent the ATO from informing you of the outcome or progress of your complaint.
Investigation can run from a few days to years.

How do I submit a tip-off?

You can submit a tip-off by phoning the ATO’s black economy hotline on 1800 060 062 or completing a form on the ATO website or via the ATO app (“Contact Us” section). Make sure to include as much detail as possible. For more information, visit the ATO website.

Top tips to increase your customers in 2020

January 30, 2020 By raadmin

To effectively grow your business, increasing your customers is important. But it’s not easy, especially for small businesses not having a huge budget for promotions and advertising. We are here to guide you through 2 key ways to not only attract new buyers but also make your customers happier.

1, FOCUS ON EXISTING CUSTOMERS

Target your best customers with offers

Identify the customers who generate the most profit for your business or who have the most potential for additional sales. Actively engage with these customers to gain more sales. Find out how you can utilize the 80/20 rule in business.

Research what else you can sell

Conduct online surveys or ask customers directly to discover what other products or services they might be interested in. For example, if you own a convenience store, ask staff to informally question customers at your checkout and to take note of what else they would like to be able to buy. Add some of these suggestions to your product or service line.

Investigate creating a customer loyalty scheme

Building a loyalty system with points or loyalty cards is a great way to encourage more frequent purchases and track your customers’ buying habits with the data you collect. For example, if you run a winery, keep a record of your customers so each time they visit they can gather credit towards a free bottle of wine. This can also help identify sales opportunities.

Create a customer database to target offers

Collecting customer emails or addresses enables you to contact them with special offers, new items or useful information. For example, if you had your own taxi business, you could email discounted fares to customers at slower times of the year.

Train staff on ways to improve sales conversions

Ensure your business has friendly, helpful staff that are well trained to take advantage of converting enquiries into sales. Run in-house sales sessions or employ a sales consultant.

Offer incentives for your staff to sell more

Help your staff on-sell to existing customers by offering incentives. For example, if you operated an adventure tourism business with multiple activities you could offer bonuses for selling certain products or increasing the average sale. Learn to build a strong team and stay connected to your staff.

Build a community through social media

Start a Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter campaign (whichever is most relevant to your business) and talk about your business and its customers to increase the profile of your business and encourage additional purchases. Social media is growing rapidly and taking advantage of these platforms can really help grow your business. Creating and sharing content that adds value also helps building a community through social media.

Identify any cross sell opportunities

List the products or services your customers have previously bought and then match complementary items that you could sell to them. Contact them with offers. Always encourage customers to consider buying a higher net margin product or service.

Review your business plan

Go over your business plan to evaluate and update anything that’s recently changed. Check you’re still on track for your growth goals and make any necessary adjustments.

2, FIND NEW CUSTOMERS (WITHIN THE CURRENT MARKET)

Use direct marketing that gets results

Measure the response rates to each area of your direct marketing campaign, whether it be email advertising, direct mail, or online click-throughs. Invest more of your marketing budget into what gets results. For example, if you’re an electrician, consider doing a mail drop in your local area, advertising your services.

Find ways to generate word of mouth

Build up positive word of mouth referrals by getting testimonials from customers, encouraging regulars to refer their friends or family to your business, speaking at events, and networking inside chambers or business associations. For example, if you own a travel agency that offers escorted tours to Europe, get feedback from your customers and ask to use some of their quotes on your website.

Create exclusive offers

Create an introductory offer for new customers only. Sacrifice your regular profits to gain loyal customers that will buy again on a regular basis. Consider what the Australian Government’s business website has to say about finding new customers.

Increase your profile through online directories

To increase your online presence, list your business on the most popular online directories, such as Yelp or Google My Business listing. Alternatively, use these resources to uncover potential new customers (especially through industry directories).

Increase web traffic by improving your search engine optimisation (SEO)

SEO will help increase your website’s traffic leading to a growth in your customer base. Spend some time determining your site’s keywords and keyword phrases so it attracts the right traffic for your business.

Purchase search keywords to improve your online exposure

Consider paying for search engine marketing (SEM) so that when customers search for your business products your web address is more likely to come up than others. For example, if you’re a Lawyer catering to small businesses, you might find there’s a lot of competition so think about paying for an ad that appears on the first search page.

Use Instagram to display your business

Instagram allows you to visually tell the story of your business and its offerings through images. When potential customers like your product or service images (which can be linked to your other social media accounts), you might get an avalanche of views.

Create regular blogs

Keep your content fresh and updated by writing regular blogs about your business, your people, and successful case studies. Regular blog content can be important for increasing your SEO and driving traffic to your website.

Run demonstrations or workshops to educate clients

Run demonstrations, workshops or events to showcase your business to existing or new customers. For example, if you’re a martial arts instructor going it alone, create a series of workshops to show potential clients the skills and benefits of learning through you.

Network by joining business associations

Networking with like-minded business individuals is crucial to managing the right business contacts in your industry. Uncover potential customers by attending industry events.

Create a targeted marketing plan

Outline a specific marketing strategy that’s aimed at new customer segments. Then develop a precise advertising plan to build awareness and encourage purchases. For example, if you’re targeting truck drivers, create a billboard theme that plays on words and back that up with occasional radio adverts.

NEXT STEPS:

Stay tuned for more blogs that can help you manage and grow your small businesses! Check out some of our past blogs in the meantime:

New year resolutions for small businesses

Top 3 small business challenges and how to solve them

5 Powerful ways to improve your small business marketing

New year resolutions for small businesses

January 23, 2020 By raadmin

Happy new year! As 2020 begins, right now is a good time to reflect on your business’ progress over the last year and plan the year. Don’t forget to make New Year’s resolutions for your business to grow and reach new heights this year. Here are some resolutions that can be helpful for small businesses in 2020:

1, Give your business a financial health check

Many small businesses were hit by cash flow problems last year. To avoid the same fate, take a serious look at your business’ balance sheet and its profit and loss account. Consider whether you have sufficient headroom and is there anything you can do to improve? For example, do you need to spend more time chasing late payments, or could new financing facilities provide an answer?

2, Boost your marketing efforts

Marketing is always an important part of operating a business. Good marketing attracts customers, keep them loyal and encourage them to recommend your service/product to others. In other words, it raises company profits and reputation. If your company hasn’t focused on marketing, then you should do it now.

Customers are important – always do your research to see what they look for in a product/service. Keeping up with trends is also important to market your product/service better.

3, Make your customers happier

This year, why not talk to your customers and see what you can do to make them happier? Happy customers will keep coming back and refer to friends and family members to you. By listening to them and collecting feedback, you will know what you need to do better.

4, Stay updated with tax laws, regulations, and deadlines

Make sure to talk to your accountants to ensure that you are up-to-date with all tax laws and regulations that may affect your business. Ask them for filing deadlines and set up alerts and reminders for the year.

Action plan: Talk to our expert accountants today for advice! Give us a call or book a consultation on 07 3367 0852.

New Year, New Decade

January 16, 2020 By raadmin

Not only did we celebrate a new year a couple of weeks ago, but we welcomed a new decade. It is at this time we find ourselves not only reflecting on the year that has just been, we are also reflecting on the decade that has just gone.

At the beginning of the last decade, our office operated quite differently. Looking back at 2010, we were just beginning to implement Xero and our processes were drastically changing into electronic form. All our correspondence was via snail mail, email was used sporadically to converse with clients; and working away from our desk was next to impossible due to all our files & software being on a server which we could only use via ‘Remote Access’.

This last decade has drastically improved our processes. So much so, that we would not want to return to where we used to be. Now, we are very proud Gold Xero Partners, well and truly using and loving our beautiful accounting software, all our correspondence is via email allowing instantaneous contact between ourselves and our clients, and all our files and software are ‘in the clouds’ which allows us to work away from our desks easily, and in turn, improving our work/life balance.

Trying to imagine where we will be at the beginning of next decade is mind boggling, but exciting!

For many people a new decade brings with it an increased sense of ‘New Beginning’ and starting with a ‘Clean Slate’. In small business, often the break between Christmas and New Year allows us time to evaluate the past and consider how we can tackle the coming year with improved efficiencies. How can we make our business grow, be more successful and find a better work/life balance. Perhaps, if you haven’t made the jump yet, this is your year to improve your data processing and bookkeeping by jumping onto Xero. It will most definitely not be a change you regret! For those of you who do use Xero, perhaps there is an add-on which you have been considering implementing – this is the time to jump on board. While you are feeling refreshed to tackle the year ahead, get the ball rolling, it’s the best time to implement a change.

From all of us at RA Business Advisors, we wish you a very successful year ahead!!

Directors beware: Penalties for Unpaid Super

January 9, 2020 By raadmin

Company Directors can be held personally liable for a company’s unpaid employee superannuation.

Any unpaid superannuation is payable to the ATO after three months as a Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC). The ATO can issue a Director Penalty Notice for unpaid GSC and the Company Director’s personal assets can be sold to pay for the debts in the penalty notice. In other words, Company Directors can be held personally liable for the company’s unpaid superannuation.

If a company fails to pay superannuation, but it lodges its SGC Statements by the SGC Statement due dates, the ATO can issue a Director Penalty Notice to the company’s directors. The Directors can become liable to the ATO for the amount of SGC claimed in the Director Penalty Notice. Directors can avoid personal liability if the SGC is paid by the company.

If a company fails to pay superannuation and it also fails to lodge SGC statements by the SGC Statement due dates, the Directors are automatically personally liable for unpaid superannuation. In these circumstances:

The ATO can estimate unpaid superannuation if it chooses
The ATO can and will issue a Director Penalty Notice to recover superannuation from the Directors
Placing the company in liquidation or voluntary administration will not avoid liability for the Directors
The ATO can and will issue Director Penalty Notice after a company is already in liquidation or voluntary administration

In May 2019, new legislation was passed to change the date upon which company directors become automatically liable for SGC amounts. The new date is the date which SGC Statements are due, which are:

Quarter	Period	Super Due for Payment	SGC Statement Due Date
1	1 July – 30 September	28 October	28 November
2	1 October – 31 December	28 February	28 February
3	1 January – 31 March	28 April	28 May
4	1 April – 30 June	28 July	28 Aug

If your company cannot pay superannuation, the best thing to do to avoid liability is to lodge SGC Statements within three months of them being due. If this is done, then you will be able to avoid liability under any Director Penalty Notice issued by placing your company in liquidation, if this is the best option available. The ATO will also not be able to issue you with a Director Penalty Notice after your company has been placed in liquidation.

But if your company is unable to pay superannuation within three months of it being due, then it probably has some underlying financial problems and you should see advice regarding the company’s circumstances, strategies which may be put in place and risks to you as a Director personally.

Contact our expert Accountants for assistance if you have any questions about this information or if you need help in working out what to do if you have unpaid superannuation in your company. Don’t leave this too late. If you do, then your personal assets will be at risk!